Torgos – Lappet-faced vulture

The skin of the neck region has pink folds on either side, termed lappets which give it the name lappet-faced vultures. Despite the fierce looks, this vulture has personality and would make you look twice. The featherless heads and necks help eliminate carcasses remaining as this area would be hard to preen.

These massive vultures are known to dominate the feasting carcass site and scare off smaller vultures. The strong jaw helps them debone the meat and tear off tendons and ligaments. Unlike other vultures, they don’t mind undead delicacies like flamingo eggs or small reptiles, fish, birds, and mammals. You might think they smell the food and come soaring, but instead, they use their sharp eye-sight to locate the party.